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I made one of my favourite cheesecakes earlier this week … raw vegan peanut butter cheesecake! Anyone who knows me well knows that I’m a PB and over all nut freak. PB makes everything perfect! This was my 1st try making this cheesecake and I’m really happy with the outcome. So happy indeed that I’m sharing my recipe with you all right away. I’ve had many people ask me for this recipe once I posted a picture of it on Instagram. My new years resolution was to try and put pen to paper and actually write down my recipes so I did just that when I made this cheesecake. I’m not a fussy person and I love to bake and cook so I’ve become the queen at winging my recipes. I barely measure and don’t fuss about exact measurements. When people ask me for recipes, ask me to please consider writing a cookbook or teach cooking classes this becomes a problem however. I blame the way I am because of my mom (just joking) because she never used measurements when I used to cook/bake with her as a child. She intern leaned the a little of this and a bit of that type of measuring from her mother as well. I’m breaking the cycle now and these days I’ve made a conscious effort to try and write down the measurements that I’m using when I’m cooking or baking. So going back to this awesome raw cheesecake I didn’t overly sweeten mine so if your a major sweet tooth then add more sugar to your cheesecake. I’m a sweet tooth who has converted to an almost sugar free lifestyle so I try and limit how sweet I make my desserts. It’s really difficult sometimes but I just try and use dates and stevia when baking in order to make my desserts as healthy has possible. I love the natural sweetness that dates bring to desserts and what’s even better is they have many nutritional benefits. Hooray!

Here is my very simple recipe …

Raw Vegan Peanut Butter Cheesecake

You will need:

1 spring form pan ( I use a 9″ pan )

1/3 cup Pure organic coconut oil

1 400 ml can of coconut milk ( you will only use 1/2 of the can however)

5 cups Raw cashew halves

1 TBSP Maple syrup

2 cups Medjool dates

3 Powdered Stevia packets

1/3 cup vegan mini chocolate chips

1 1/2 cup Unsweetened natural peanut butter

Food processor

Method:

The 1st step which is the most important step of all is soak your cashews for at least 4 hours before making this recipe. I prefer to soak mine overnight. I just put the cashews in a glass bowl and cover them with fresh water the night before I’m making any cheesecake.

Soak your dates in very warm water for 10 – 15 minutes so they can soften and become really plump. I also pop the can of coconut milk into the fridge while my dates soak. I find when the can is cold the cream becomes a little thicker and easier to scoop up after.

You are going to start off with making the crust for the cheesecake by adding 2 cups of the raw cashews into the food processor with 7 pitted dates. Process until the dates have been incorporated well.

Lightly oil your spring form pan with a little coconut oil

Transfer the crust mixture into the spring form pan and press down well and evenly distribute it around the base of your pan.

Now you can go ahead and make your filling by adding the following ingredients into the food processor: The remaining 3 cups of the the raw cashews, 1 TBSP of maple syrup, 1/3 cup coconut oil, 3 packets of stevia, 1 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1/2 of the can of coconut oil (skim the thickening coconut cream from on top as you don’t want the liquid for this recipe) and the remaining pitted dates. Process very well. Make sure to scrape down the processor’s bowl in order to make sure everything is combining well.

Once combined well and it’s a nice creamy consistency then add your filling into the spring form pan and smooth it out evenly.

Top with mini vegan chocolate chips

Pop it into the freezer to set for at least 4 hours so the cheesecake can set nicely.

Remove it from the freezer about 20-30 minutes before your want to slice it up and serve it. You can keep any left over slices in the fridge in an air tight container.

So incredibly easy to make right? The only thing you have to remember to do is soak your nuts and your dates so that your cheesecake turns out wickedly good! 🙂

Enjoy!

~Debbie~

*Remember to visit me on Instagram and take a look at how I try and live a healthy balanced lifestyle! I’m VeganMommyDee on there as well.*

I tend to eat lettuce wraps a lot! Why??? They are so easy to throw together super fast and most importantly they are incredibly healthy! See fast foodCAN be healthy!!! I like to use black beans because they are my favourite bean but you can use what ever bean you prefer. The picture below is of a super plain wrap because that bean mixture was made for my 9-year-old who wanted just beans & hemp hearts. I like to add bell peppers, shredded carrot and sprouts if I have them on hand to my wraps. The beauty of these wraps is that you can pretty much use any veggie you have on hand or that needs to be used asap in them. Another bonus of lettuce wraps is that they are kinder to your waistline compared to wolfing down a bunch of tortilla wraps. Go ahead and wolf these down though because they are delicious and healthy … no guilt required! 🙂

Simple Black Bean Lettuce Wraps

Black Bean Lettuce wraps

You will need:

1 can of black beans

garlic

apple cider vinegar

hemp hearts

salt & pepper , I use Himalayan pink salt

parsley

lettuce of your choice, *Boston/butterhead lettuce is a great choice because it holds the bean mixture well. I’m inserting a picture I found of Boston Lettuce in case your not familiar with this type of lettuce.*

Boston Lettuce

Bean mixture:

1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed really well

3-4 cloves of garlic, minced

Salt & Pepper, to taste

2 TBSP hemp hearts

1 tbsp. olive oil

1/3 cup fresh torn up parsley

2-3 tbsp. of apple cider vinegar

Veggie/veggies of choice, I usually cut up 1 large bell pepper and grate 1/3 cup carrot

Add all ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl. The longer you let these ingredients sit the better your bean mixture will taste! I sometimes make it the night before and keep it in the fridge.

Method:

Pre wash & dry your lettuce leaves. Make sure they are nice and dry!

Add your bean mixture to the lettuce. If you’re using the Boston lettuce it acts like a cup so it’s really easy to fill up.

Top with more hemp hearts

Eat them all up!!! Without any guilt I might add! 🙂

NOTE: I also sometimes add some brown rice or quinoa to my wraps which makes them a little more filling when I’m enjoying them for dinner. Give it a try! You will love this addition!

I’m finally posting the recipe for my Raw Vegan Pumpkin Pie !!! Many people have asked me for this recipe so here it is! It’s super easy to make and so far everyone who has tried it has loved it! When I cook and bake I pretty much always just eyeball the quantities of my ingredients. Not good when your being asked for your recipes often! I’ve now forced myself to pay attention to the quantities and write down my recipes as I go. This recipe is easily adapted so adjust the spice amounts as desired. Everyone is different. Some people like their pie mild in flavor and others like it strong. I’m kinda of a mid range person and that’s what my recipe reflects. As far as nuts go I prefer to use raw cashew halves in my pie filling as well as the crust. I’ve done it with walnuts and it turns out good in flavor but I find the texture of the pie is much better when I use cashews. So although Thanksgiving has already passed for us in Canada I still made another raw pumpkin pie this week. Hey it’s still fall so I think it’s still appropriate! For my lovely American friends & family this recipe is coming to you in perfect timing! Your welcome! 🙂

RAW VEGAN PUMPKIN PIE

Ingredients for the crust:

1 cup raw cashew halves (no need to soak the nuts for the crust)

1 tbsp. unsweetened shredded coconut

2 medjool dates, pitted

Ingredients For the pie filling:

1 1/2 cup raw soaked and drained cashew halves

1/2 cup pure maple syrup or agave

1 1/2 cups pure pumpkin puree (Not pumpkin pie filling!)

1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 heaping tbsp.’s cinnamon, or to taste

2 tsp. pumpkin spice, or to taste

3 heaping tbsp.’s coconut oil

10 medjool dates, pitted

You will also need:

1 pie plate or desired dish

food processor

large bowl

medium-sized bowl

kettle

* For best results soak your cashews over night!!! Add the 1 1/2 cups raw cashew halves into a large bowl and cover with water. Give it a quick mix and leave them overnight on your countertop. *

Method:

Place the dates in a medium-sized bowl and add boiled water to them from your kettle. Let them sit there 10-20 minutes to soften up.

After your dates have softened you can remove 2 from the bowl and after pitting it add it to the food processor. Your now going to make your pie crust. Add in the 1 cup of raw cashews and the 1 tbsp. of shredded coconut. Use the pulse option in order to just combine the ingredients slightly. I then use the low setting on my food processor to combine the ingredients well.

Remove the crust ingredients and add them to your pie plate. Use your fingers to press down the mixture and spread it out evenly. Set aside.

Remove the other 10 dates from the water and remove the pits. Add them to the food processor.

Strain the water out of your 1 1/2 cups cashews and add them to your food processor as well.

Pulse to just chop everything slightly and then use the high-powered option and blend well. I stop mine and use a spoon to scrape down the sides of the processor a couple of times in order to make sure that the nuts puree well.

It should be a beautiful smooth consistency. Taste and adjust the spice as needed at this point.

Transfer the pie filling into your pie plate. Smooth it out evenly and cover it up with clear cling wrap.

Pop it into the freezer for at least 4- 6 hours until it’s set and firm. Once it’s set really well you can place it into the fridge. Take the pie out a few minutes before your going to slice and serve it so that it comes to room temperature.

* I’ve also been known just kept my pies in the freezer and only cut the slices I need. I let them come to room temperature and serve them. My kids enjoy adding whipped cream on top of their pie slice but I eat mine plain. I think it’s perfect just like that! 🙂

I grew up eating collards and every year I grow them in my vegetable garden. They are incredibly healthy and I use them a lot in my soups. I also really enjoy using them to make healthy wraps instead of using a tortilla. Our waist lines will thank us for these small healthy conscious choices that we make!!! You can eat the collards raw if your using small leaves. Mine were large and a bit tough so I popped mine into boiling salted water for just a few seconds just to soften them slightly. Once I remove them from the water I pat them dry with paper towel or a clean tea towel. You can eat them wrapped up with veggies and add optional sautéed tofu strips if desired. I like to add homemade garlic Dijon dressing to them sometimes just to give them some extra flavor. 🙂

Garden Fresh Collards

What you will need:

Washed Collard leaves, as many as you need. Small leaves can be used for one wrap. The larger leaves can be cut in half and you can make two wraps with them.

Chopped/Julienne veggies of choice. I like adding carrot, cucumber, sprouts and bell peppers to mine.

small bowl

Serving dish or plate

1 tsp. natural garlic Dijon mustard

2-3 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

3-4 tbsp. olive oil

black pepper, to taste

pot with water and a dash of Himalayan salt to it

Method:

Place pot of water on to boil with the salt.

Make the dressing by adding the garlic Dijon mustard to a small bowl, then whisk in the apple cider vinegar and olive oil. Add desired amount of pepper and give it another mix.

Chop/Julienne your veggies of choice.

Add the collard leaves to the pot of boiling water for just a few seconds to soften slightly.

Remove the collard leaves and pat dry with paper towel or a clean tea towel. Allow them to cool before assembling your wraps.

Once cooled add the collard leaves on a time to a plate or cutting board so you can start filling your wraps. Add a little of each vegetable of choice. If your going to be eating these wraps right away then you can add a drizzle of the dressing in the wrap before you close it up. If you’re not eating them right away then I suggest you just place the dressing on the side. You can add the dressing to them later or else you will have soggy wraps!

Transfer each wrap to a serving dish or plate.

That’s it! So easy and fast to make and collards provide you will incredible health benefits!

Making fresh spring rolls is super easy and boy are they tasty!!! They are a great way of using up those veggies in your fridge! Bust them out, chop them up and let’s make some spring rolls!!! I like adding veggies like carrots, bell peppers, cucumber, sprouts, lettuce, spinach, parsley and cabbage to my spring rolls. The options are endless so add whatever you enjoy and that you have on hand! I always have a package of rice paper rolls in my fridge just in case I need to whip up a fast meal. I prefer using the small-sized rice paper but I sometimes buy the large size and then chop them in half once they are stuffed. Staples like this are what save me from resorting to picking up fast food on the run! 🙂

Fresh Spring Rolls

You will need:

1 package of rice paper rolls, I prefer the small size

Chopped/Julienne veggies of choice

3 tbsp. light soy sauce or alternative

1 tbsp. Vegan/Vegetarian Hoisin sauce

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tbsp. chopped peanuts, optional

baking dish with water

small bowl

serving dish or plate

Method:

Make you dipping sauce by mixing the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, optional peanuts and garlic together in a small bowl. The longer this sits the better garlic flavor you will have … so yummy!

Chop/Julienne veggies of choice.

Add a rice paper into the baking dish with water and allow the paper to soften. Be careful not to over soak it because then the paper will break and become soggy!

Transfer the rice paper to a large plate or cutting board so you can assemble the spring roll. Add a little of each veggie and some herbs if you’re using them to the rice paper roll. Remember not to over stuff it or else it wont roll up properly!

Roll it up and place it on your serving plate or dish.

Keep assembling as many as you like. Place the dipping sauce bowl in the middle of your serving plate or right beside it when your ready to serve them.

If your making them ahead of time then just cover them with plastic wrap and place them into the fridge. Sometimes I make them the night before. They are a fantastic & very healthy lunch to pack up for the next day!